Globalfoundries to Extend Production Capacities of Fab 8.

Globalfoundries has announced it is moving forward with the final construction for the extension of module 1 at the Fab 8 campus in New York. Thanks to expansion of cleanroom space by about 1/3, the Fab 8 will be able to produce around 60 thousand 300mm wafers per month by the end of 2013 and will therefore be more competitive.

“During the construction of Fab 8, we extended the shell of the Module 1 building with the expectation that our business would continue to grow. Today we see increasingly strong demand from our customers, especially at the 28nm node, and we are excited to be moving forward with this next phase in the development of the Fab 8 campus,” said Eric Choh, vice president and general manager of Fab 8 at Globalfoundries.

The project will add 90 000 square feet (8361m2) of cleanroom space manufacturing capacity, bringing the total cleanroom space capacity for Fab 8 Module 1 to 300 000 square feet (27 870m2). Construction activities are scheduled to begin in August and work is expected to be completed in December 2013. Extending the Fab 8 cleanroom is expected to increase the Fab 8 capacity to approximately 60 thousand 300mm wafers per month and increase the capital budget by approximately $2.3 billion, taking the total capital budget from $4.6 billion to approximately $6.9 billion, once tools and equipment are installed.

When Globalfoundries' leading-edge Fab 1 capacities in Dresden, Germany, and Fab 8 capacities in the U.S. are fully ramped by early 2014, the company will be able to process 140 thousand of 300mm wafers using 20nm and 28nm process technologies per month; or 420 thousand of wafers per quarter. In addition, Globalfoundries has Fab 7 300mm facility in Singapore, which produces chips using 40nm, 45nm, 65nm, 90nm and 130nm process technologies. The Fab 7 capacity is 50 thousand 300mm wafers per month, or 150 thousand of wafers per quarter.

“By continuing to expand our investment in the project, Globalfoundries is delivering more options to our global customers, while helping to redefine upstate New York as a premier hub of the global semiconductor industry, creating thousands of new advanced manufacturing jobs, and contributing billions of dollars to the regional economy," added Mr. Choh.

Consisting of approximately two million square feet, Fab 8 is being developed as the world’s most advanced semiconductor foundry manufacturing facility and is consistently hitting all major development milestones. GLOBALFOUNDRIES began construction on Fab 8 in July 2009 and began moving people and equipment into the facility in mid-2011. Initial wafer starts began earlier this year and the facility is on track to begin risk production by the end of the year, with volume production in early 2013.